The Tales of Draco Malfoy
by Matty Moo
Summary: Dumbledore is dead, Snape is Headmaster, The Golden Trio are hunting horcruxes and Draco Malfoy is stuck at Hogwarts. That is until the Golden Trio get split and Draco lands himself with the danger that comes with Hermione Granger. Full Summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**  
 **Quick Author's note to say that the timeline is a bit different in this story, Dumbledore _is_ dead and everything up to his death is the same, however after he died Snape took over and Draco and Blaise stayed at Hogwarts, Draco and Blaise have been friends since they were babies. Hermione, Harry and Ron have been travelling and staying at the Order HQ looking for Horcruxes. It's been a few months since Dumbledore died and Snape took over as Headmaster.**

 **Full Summary: Dumbledore is dead, Snape is Headmaster, The Golden Trio are hunting horcruxes and Draco Malfoy is stuck at Hogwarts. That is until the Golden Trio get split and Draco lands himself with the danger that comes with Hermione Granger. Now Draco and Blaise are stuck with Hermione and Hermione is stuck in Hogwarts. All three know how important it is that Hermione gets back to help Harry save the world. Draco isn't exactly pleased that he's become such a big part in this Voldemort vs Potter stand off but he's done being a coward and is going to step up and play his part. He just hopes it doesn't get him killed.**

* * *

It almost felt weird to feel on edge. Hogwarts was supposed to be the safest place there was. Yet ever since he let the death eaters in and Snape killed Dumbledore it was a ridiculously dangerous place to stay. Still people stayed, even some of the kids who were in the Order stayed. Well it was more like they hadn't been lucky enough to escape back when it was possible to do so. It was too high on security to be able to leave now without causing at least some destruction.

Snape being Headmaster was actually a blessing in disguise, none of the other students realised how much worse it would be if one of the other Death Eaters was in charge. Draco tried not to shudder at the thought. He continued to sneak up to the Heads towers, not that it was hard, no one was stupid enough to break curfew. Filch was no longer the biggest threat hanging around the castle at night.

Making sure he didn't lose his concentration Draco, like the Slytherin he was, slithered around the bends and corners of the castle. He was almost caught by a patrolling Dementor but managed to go around it and eventually was outside the door to the Heads Tower. He muttered the password and quietly slipped inside.

He didn't expect his best mate to be up but sure enough the Head Boy Blaise Zabini was wide awake and sitting on one of the Slytherin green armchairs in the Heads common room. Blaise hadn't heard Draco come in and therefore Draco thought it was the perfect opportunity to teach Blaise he should always be aware of his surroundings.

Draco quietly snuck up to the armchair where he could see the back of his best friend's head. Once right behind him he smacked Blaise on the back of the head. The surprise of the attack caused the Head Boy to shoot forwards out of his chair. He scrambled to get to his feet and turned around. wand already drawn. Draco didn't look fazed whilst he had a wand shoved in his face, he merely raised one eyebrow at his friend.

"Good evening, Blaise." Draco drawled, the amusement could be heard clearly in his voice. "No need to point that thing in my face, your guard was down." Draco's voice turned serious as he added "I was just reminding you that your guard should _never_ be down." Then to make the air a bit lighter he shrugged and sat on the sofa to the left of where Blaise had been sitting before Draco had rudely interrupted his thoughts.

"You're a bastard you know that right." Blaise told him as he relaxed and put his wand away. He returned to his seat and for a moment silence fell between the two friends. Blaise was still looking into the fire as he addressed the blonde beside him. "What brings you here?"

"Rumours are going around, Blaise. Rumours about _you_ , I don't need to tell you how dangerous that is do I?" Draco asked, his brow furrowing in concern for his fellow Slytherin. Blaise didn't seem concerned, merely smirked although he still did not try and initiate any eye contact.

"Intriguing. So what's being said about me that is so bad?" his voice sounded amused but Draco could see in his eyes that was not what he was feeling. "Has the big bad Slytherin Head Boy been called soft because he refuses to practice the Cruciatus Curse on the first year Muggleborns?" he spat this question out, as if the words were burning his tongue.

Draco resisted the urge to click his tongue at Blaise. He knew Blaise sympathised with the Muggleborns, hell _he_ did too but it was one thing to think it and another to act on it. It was safe to _think_ how sick and disturbing Hogwarts had become, it was not however safe to voice those thoughts out loud. Blaise hadn't _said_ he was pro Muggleborn but he sure as hell had acted like it and Draco knew if he continued then life would start to get very dangerous for Blaise. Since Draco had for some reason decided to befriend him when he was a toddler that meant Draco would get dragged into it and it would get dangerous for him as well. Draco was still a Slytherin and that meant self-preservation was second nature to him.

"Surprisingly no that's not what's going round." Draco said softly, trying to stay calm and not get up and shake Blaise and tell him to _be more goddamn careful._ "Word is Granger and the Dumb Duo have been gallivanting around the world looking for some things. That is until a couple of days ago when Granger got separated." Draco said this casually as if he wasn't interested in what he was saying. He leaned back in his chair and kept his eye on Blaise for any signs of reactions, so far Blaise was as calm and laid back as ever. "Apparently Potty and crew were going to break into Hogwarts for something but never made it past the Forbidden Forest. Dynamic Duo got away but according to the rumour mill Granger is still in town as they say."

Draco acted as if he hadn't noticed the way Blaise had stiffened ever so slightly and simply remained silent but with an air of casual discussion surrounding him.

"What's that got to do with me?" Blaise asked. Draco pretended he didn't hear the crack in his voice. He was tempted to carry on nonchalantly but the fact Blaise had been keeping a secret from him – a big one at that – pissed him off so he dropped the act.

"You can come out, Granger." Draco said, his voice had a distinctive hard edge to it.

For a few moments Draco thought he had been wrong, everything around him was silent and still. Granger, it appears, was good at hiding but Draco knew his friend. If Blaise hadn't been hiding anything he wouldn't look like a deer caught in headlights right now.

A minute or two passed before Draco heard a slight shuffling coming from the corner that held the stairs which led to the bedrooms. When the frizzy haired, know it all, Muggleborn appeared in what little light the fire gave off Draco sighed. He had hoped he was wrong.

Granger was biting her lip clearly nervous as to what Draco Malfoy, hater of Muggleborns, hater of _her_ was going to do with this information. She clearly expected him to march over to her and drag her out of the safety Blaise had given her and deliver her to Snape. Instead Draco merely gave her a quick once over and turned back to Blaise.

Draco looked at the girl then back to his mate. Draco frowned at Blaise and then let out a groan that he felt summarized his feelings right now. It wasn't enough to satisfy him so he added in a exasperated voice;

"For fuck's sake Blaise, now we're all fucked."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, thought I'd change things up and do my introduction down here. Well it's not much of an introduction really. Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and it wasn't confusing or anything. Let me know if it was and I'll make sure if there's any questions to clear them up in the second chapter. Reviews would be much appreciated but of course aren't a necessity. Anyway hope you liked it.**

 **Also I'm not sure that the name of the story is that great, I couldn't really think of one so if anyone has any suggestions that would be greatly appreciated :)**

 **Until next time - Tilda.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Tales of Draco Malfoy**

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

He wanted to freak out. He wanted to let go of his control over his emotions and just shout and rant at Blaise until he was red in the face and out of breath. He knew however if he did that, if he let the tight control he had over his emotions slip then that was it. It would be a downward spiral and his career as a Death Eater would ultimately lead him to death. He was smart enough to know he already had a 50/50 chance of surviving this war but letting go would downgrade that to a big fat zero.

Then again having _Granger_ here was currently making his survival rate plummet. Like he had just told Blaise they were all royally screwed and he wasn't sure how to handle it. Blaise and Granger hadn't uttered a word since and Draco knew they were giving him time to decide what to do about the situation. Granger was probably already mentally preparing herself to be shoved back out the castle to find her own escape.

Truthfully there was nothing more Draco wanted to do then just tell Granger to get lost. He didn't want to have her here because she was a burden. A Death Eater couldn't help hide a Mudblood for Salazar's sake. Not one who wanted to say alive that is and Draco was rather fond of life even if it was currently miserable and filled with paranoia. He _had_ matured since he was twelve where he had made the word 'Mudblood' his catchphrase. Mudbloods were still Mudbloods, they were still beneath him, he was always going to be naturally better at magic then them because his whole world since birth had been surrounded by magic. He knew Granger defied that, that she was a better witch than he was a wizard but there was often someone better than you in life. He still believed magic came easier to him than it did her, the reason Granger was so good was because she was a hard-worker. Not because she was inherently better than him.

He didn't want to help her but if he didn't he would be essentially killing her. Sending her off to her death. He didn't like her, Granger was the most annoying person he has ever met after all other than her two idiot friends, but he didn't hate her. Draco didn't want to have blood on his hands and not someone he knew well. They weren't friends, hell he hadn't seen her since Dumbledore's death, but that didn't mean he know her. Draco never could stand Dumbledore and still the fact that Dumbledore's death was caused by him continued to haunt him and probably would never cease to.

Sighing Draco ran a hand through his hair, feeling beyond frustrated. He felt the eyes of Blaise and Granger following his every move and trying to determine his emotions. Draco knew Blaise was big hearted which was what undoubtedly led Granger to be here right now. He wondered how Blaise had managed to sneak her in a castle practically bursting with Death Eaters. In fact now that he thought about it how had he got her past the head girl.

Pansy Parkinson – for some insane reason that was completely lost to Draco – had been made Head Girl. Blaise was smart and a good student, Pansy was an idiot and a slacker. She preferred to bully other kids into doing her work which Draco supposed to Death Eaters was a _good_ quality. Even though she was stupid she was still observant. Surely even Pansy could tell that Blaise was harbouring a fugitive.

"Does Pansy know?" Draco asked, the sudden breaking of silence startled Granger but it seemed Blaise had once again became calm and collected.

"Of course not." He snorted. "Do you think Pansy would be happy helping a Muggleborn, especially Granger." He had a point, if there was a Slytherin who hated Granger it was Pansy. Now she was _extremely_ pro-Purebloods.

"She's not smart but you're telling me she hasn't noticed you've snuck in the most wanted Mudblood into a place that's crawling with sadistic Death Eaters?" If Granger was offended to be called a Mudblood she didn't portray it. She continued to watch the exchange between the two Slytherin friends quietly, every now and then she would bite her bottom lip.

"Well, yeah." Blaise said which was entirely unhelpful to Draco when he was clearly asking _how_ Blaise had pulled this off. Draco sighed again.

"Before I decide whether it's safe for Granger to stay or if we're better off chucking her out you need to tell me how exactly she came to be here." Draco told him. Blaise nodded and with a moment's hesitation, as if to find out where to start, he launched into the story.

* * *

 _Blaise pulled his cloak tighter around him. He wondered why he was even bothering to go into Hogsmeade this Saturday, it was starting to feel like the cold far outweighed any benefits. He was only going to get a Butterbeer seeing as Draco had declined to come with saying he was behind on homework. Blaise snorted, what a swot. Getting good grades was hardly that important considering there was a war going on and a high chance neither of them would make it 'til the end of the year._

 _No matter the situation Blaise still felt like a Butterbeer so he headed into The Three Broomsticks. It didn't take him long to finish his drink, the bar was fairly crowded with Slytherin's enjoying their weekend in Hogsmeade. Not that it was a luxury anymore since Snape didn't care where the students went. Slytherin's had privileges, if you were a pureblood Gryffidnor, Ravenclaw or even Hufflepuff you still got off lightly. Half-bloods and what was left of the Muggleborns that were still trapped at Hogwarts didn't have it easy. They were often on the end of dark curses from their Death Eaters teachers._

 _As Blaise passed the alleyway in-between The Three Broomsticks and the next building he could've sworn he heard a noise. A whimper in fact. Blaise paused to see if it was his mind playing tricks or maybe the cold wind that was blowing his cloak all over the place._

 _A few seconds later the sound could be heard again. Blaise's hand went into his cloak and wrapped around his wand. Slowly Blaise approached the alleyway and looked around. He was about to give up and just go back to the warmth of the castle when he heard the noise again. He walked to the end of the alleyway and whipped out his wand. He cast a spell that disarmed disillusion charms and raised an eyebrow at what he saw._

 _Curled in a ball, shivering and clearly very dishevelled was one Hermione Granger. Blaise crouched down next to her and gently shook her. She reacted instantaneously and let out a soft quiet scream of alarm and shuffled as far as she could into the corner._

" _Ssh, it's okay, Granger." He placated, his voice soft and gentle. "You might not remember me but I was in the same year as you. Blaise Zabini." He continued to speak gently afraid if he raised his voice an octave more that she might freak out again._

 _He wondered if the cold was driving her insane, there was something in her eyes that didn't seem quite fully lucid. He waited a few more moments, saying nothing, simply crouching down in front of her. Trying to seem as nice and non-threatening as he could. After a few seconds she seemed to fully comprehend what was going on. That Blaise wasn't attacking her, that maybe he wasn't a threat._

 _She sat up a bit more and Blaise gave her a brief soft smile of encouragement._

" _I-I need to find Harry and Ron." Her voice was hoarse; he wondered how long she had been out here. It was December, her clothes were tattered and she wore no cloak. She was well on her way to dying of hypothermia._

 _Blaise sighed; he wondered if he could live with just leaving her here. She would die, maybe tomorrow, probably wouldn't last longer than a week. Blaise may be friends with a Death Eater but there wasn't a part of_ him _that bore the ability to be one. He was a Slytherin, that much was true, but he still knew compassion._

 _Quickly he tried to think of a way to get Granger to his Head's tower. He knew Pansy was out right now, probably somewhere in Hogsmeade. He doubted he would see her in their shared tower until after dinner._

 _If he hadn't heard Granger's whimpers then he wouldn't have known she was there. Clearly the disillusion charm had been cast when she still had energy and magic to spare. It was the best he could do right now. He stood up and saw Granger watch his movements intensely._

" _I'll help you find them." He told her. "But first we need to get you inside and warm. You have no reason to trust me, Granger, and I understand that but right now I'm your only option, got it?" he saw her nod, a slow motion of her head going up and then back down again. "I'm going to cast a strong disillusion charm on you, you walk beside me or behind me and make sure you keep up. Okay?" she nodded again and shakily stood up._

 _He didn't help her, she couldn't rely on him now, she had to get to the tower on her own otherwise they were both dead. Still shivering she finally stood up, a little shaking but strong enough to make it. At least Blaise hoped she was. He nodded to her to signal he was going to cast the charm on her now. She tensed clearly uncertain whether he was truly trustworthy or not. He wasn't offended, it was smart to think like that. Luckily for her he_ did _have good intentions. Once the charm was cast he jerked his head in a 'follow me' motion._

 _They walked in silence, every now and then her hand would brush against his, signifying she was indeed following him. He wished he could have given her his cloak, she was probably close to fainting from the cold. If he had, if there had been anyone who had seen him leave then it would be dangerous. After all why would he go into the cold with a cloak but not come back with one._

 _After a tense few minutes, where Blaise was sure people were staring right at Granger, they made it to the Head's Tower. Thankfully the Death Eaters seemed to be scared, there had probably been a meeting with The Dark Lord. Although most of the Death Eaters lacked smarts so he wondered if they had come across a Death Eater they would notice the disillusion charm. Making sure there was no one around Blaise muttered the password. He walked in and held the door open, long enough for Granger to step in._

 _Once the door was shut, Blaise turned around. There was no use in looking for Granger, he had cast a good disillusion charm after all. With a wave of his wand and a quiet mutter of the counter charm Granger reappeared. She had sat down on the nearest armchair, her arms wrapped around herself as if to keep in what little body heat she had._

 _Silently Blaise went upstairs. He quickly checked Pansy wasn't in her room and was happy to find he had been right. He started to draw a hot bath and transfigured some of his old clothes into warm clothes for Granger. Once he was satisfied the bath was warm enough he went back downstairs._

 _Granger hadn't moved an inch, she was still trying to cocoon herself in her own warmth, warmth that didn't actually exist. He cleared his throat to make his presence known. Granger jumped slightly and turned to face him._

" _There's a hot bath waiting for you, towels and clothes are by the bath. Go and get warm, Granger." He told her. She nodded in what he assumed was thanks and left the room quietly, a shiver running through her body every few seconds._

 _It wasn't until an hour later that she reappeared again. Blaise had heard her coming downstairs so had put the kettle on. Neither of them said anything as she sat down in front of the fire Blaise had made when she went to bathe. He noted she accepted his transfigured clothes and had even seen the fluffy socks he put on the pile as well._

 _Blaise stood up from his chair and went to sort out two hot chocolates. He handed Granger one and heard her mumble a thank you._

" _How'd you end up there?" Blaise asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Granger seemed to hesitate, clearly still not sure whether he was trustworthy or not, so Blaise added. "I'm not a Death Eater, Granger. I didn't bring here to kill you or turn you in to the Death Eaters, I brought you here to_ help _you."_

 _She seemed to ponder that for a moment and whether she believed him. After a while she nodded in acceptance and opened up._

" _Ron, Harry and I we were trying to get into the castle. Things went bad, we were in the Forbidden Forest, there were snatchers there. We ran away, Ron and Harry they were ahead of me they had gotten a ten second head start. I tripped over a branch, went down fast. By the time I got up again I couldn't see Harry or Ron. The snatchers were closing in on me so I carried on and kept throwing spells and hexes behind me. I guess that slowed them down because I managed to get to Hogsmeade. I had a cloak back then so I kept hidden trying to see if Harry and Ron were nearby. They weren't, Snatchers were though. They were looking for me. Half a day later they found me, cornered me in that alleyway. Tore my cloak to pieces and my clothes became tattered like you saw. I managed to Stupefy them, Obliviate and then drag them away from me. By then I had used most of my magic extensively, I had no money and it was clearly a place where Death Eaters and Snatchers often frequented so I was going to be wanted when spotted. I figured I'd disillusion myself until I could think of a better plan but by then I was exhausted, physically, mentally, emotionally. I curled up and fell asleep and by the time I woke up my body was too cold to move. Then a day or two later you found me and brought me here." She shrugged as if to say, 'you're all caught up now'._

 _Blaise stayed silent, processing all the information Granger had just given him. He wondered where the duo had gone to. Had they really abandoned their friend? As it sounded like they most definitely had. He didn't like either of them, thought they weren't bright and far too emotional but he knew they were loyal. They wouldn't abandon their friend, which meant they hadn't realised she tripped. Probably thought she was still following and by the time they realised she wasn't it was too late. Blaise wondered if they went back to Hogsmeade to find her, it would've been stupid to do so but their emotions often outweighed logic. Which is why Hermione was key to their survival._

" _Did you hurt yourself when you fell over?" he asked her, he hadn't noticed her limping but then again she had been shaky on her legs anyway._

" _Just a light sprain, hurts a bit too walk but nothing I can't handle." Blaise nodded. Then suddenly they heard a voice outside the entrance. Pansy was back._

" _Shit." Blaise swore under his breathe. He waved his wand to get right of Hermione's cup and then quickly ushered her upstairs into his room. They stayed still behind Blaise's door, they heard Pansy clamber up the stairs and then shut the door to her room. Blaise released his breath._

" _You didn't leave anything in the bathroom did you?" he murmured to Granger. She shook her head._

" _You'll have to sleep in here, I'll transfigure you a bed but it's probably safer to disillusion it when Pansy's around, okay?" he continued to speak quietly, in case Pansy walked by his room at the wrong time. Granger nodded again._

 _They stayed still for a few more moments, listening to make sure Pansy stayed in her room. It was a few minutes later when Granger quietly broke the silence._

" _Zabini?" she whispered. He glanced down at her and cocked his head as if to say 'yes?' "Thank you." He smiled softly at her and nodded._

" _Of course, Granger."_

* * *

Draco had been sitting and listening patiently as his friend told the story of his heroic rescue. So Blaise had been harbouring her since Saturday. It was Tuesday evening now. Pansy had been fooled for the past four days. Draco mentally scoffed, she really _was_ an idiot.

"Do you know where Potter and Weaselbee have gone?" Draco questioned Granger. She seemed surprised that he was talking to her.

"They've probably gone back to Headquarters or are stupidly looking for me. All I need is to get back to headquarters, we'll meet up there no doubt." She told him.

"Oh that's _all_ you need is it?" he drawled. "Well at least it's not much to ask for. Granger, the minute you entered the castle you signed yourself up to stay here for a while. This place is full of Death Eaters and Slytherin's who are incredibly anti-Muggleborns. Heck, Pansy is practically Queen of that club. You entered on a day where there happened to be less danger but don't go thinking it's like that every day."

Granger scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, scowling at Draco. "Don't you think if I thought it was that easy to get out of here I would've done it already? Blaise told me it's dangerous but he told me he will help me. He said that we should ask for _your_ help, I guess it was wrong to hope that you'd be a decent human being and – "

She didn't get to finish her sentence. Draco stood up angrily, so quickly that it startled Hermione into silence. Her arms fell at her sides as Draco glared furiously at her.

"You thought I'd jump at the chance to help a Mudblood? That a Death Eater would be willing to put his life on the line for _you_. You're supposed to be smart, Granger. If Blaise hadn't brought you here I would've chucked you back out by now. It's just as dangerous for me to stay here as it is you. So maybe take that into consideration before you go accusing me of being an indecent human being." He spat at her.

There was a moment's pause where no-one said anything. Granger was clearly shocked that he was so suddenly angered, Blaise was still just sitting calmly and Draco was trying to keep a lid on his temper. Letting out a long breath Draco got a hold of his anger once more.

"Look, Blaise didn't suggest asking for my help because he thought there was a fifty fifty chance I'd say yes. He suggested it because he _knew_ I'd help." When he saw Granger was about to interrupt, probably in disbelief, he shook his head and continued. "I don't like you, Granger. You're annoying, stubborn, a know it all and so self-righteous it's nauseating. But Blaise was the one to help you and seeing as that now means if you stay here he will likely die that means I need to help you get the hell out before that happens, okay?"

Granger nodded. Silence fell among them again. Draco briefly wondered if it was safe to talk like this with Pansy up in her bedroom asleep. He prayed she was a deep sleeper because if she heard any of that they were all royally fucked. Blaise looked in between Granger and his best friend and then voiced what was surely going through all of their minds.

"So, how do we get her out of here?"

* * *

 **A/N: Hello again! I would just like to do a shout out to ZephyrLegend for reviewing thank you so much, it means a lot. And of course thank you so much to everyone who favourite/follow/alert me and this story as well, it really does mean a lot. Anyway I hope you guys liked this one, once again a review would be appreciated :)**

 **Until next time - Tilda**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is just to say there's an importantish Author's note at the end**

 **The Tales of Draco Malfoy**

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

Two weeks had passed. Two weeks. Pansy was stupid enough to not notice Granger was her new roommate, not to mention Granger and Blaise were being careful. Draco had been stuck with Granger for two weeks and he was nearly ready to off her himself.

Before all this whenever he happened to hear her name in passing from a Death Eater or a Hogwarts student he wondered if she had changed. It had been months since he last saw her and interacted with her. He knew he had changed, become less of a coward, more cunning. He had become more Slytherin. A bit more sympathetic towards Muggles and Mudbloods. He wasn't going to rave about how much he loved them - far from it - but he finally got it. They _weren't that different_ to him. He wondered if the time that had changed him had it changed Granger?

The answer was not a damn bit.

She lectured him nearly daily on trivial topics he really didn't give a damn about. Frequently looked over his homework and pointed out mistakes (which was just a blatant lie, Draco Malfoy does not make mistakes especially not in potions the stupid bint) and just had the answer to _every damn thing_. She was infuriating and in some way that was comforting. It was good to know he still didn't like her, it somehow meant he was still Draco Malfoy and she was still Hermione Granger.

Draco knew his friend liked her, Blaise and Granger seemed to get on well. Although Draco wondered if Granger was nicer to Blaise because the whole he-saved-her-life thing. That was probably part of it but he figured Granger was just nice to people who were nice to her. Which explained why he wasn't in her friendship group.

He was currently making his way up to the Head's Tower after dinner to make sure Blaise hadn't gone insane from Granger's company and Pansy was still as clueless as she appeared to be. If the fact that he was a Death Eater that wasn't really into being one hadn't kept him on edge since the Death Eaters and Snape started running this place, then the fact that now Granger was here and he was her accomplice certainly did. He hadn't trusted anyone before but now he looked at every single person who walked passed – even if it was just a quietly sobbing First Year – suspiciously, as if they were about to pounce on him and attack.

His life had been stressful before Granger arrived now he just felt like he was a second away from a heart attack. The sooner they could find a safe way for Granger to exit, or at least 60% safe, the sooner his heart would stop beating so quickly and erratically. He was determined to survive this and he sure as hell wasn't going to be taken out by his own heart. He was only eighteen for Salazar's sake.

Keeping his peripheral vision on the passing second year's Draco quietly said the password to the Head's Tower and slipped in. Pansy must have been out with friends or in her room for the night seeing as when he entered Granger was happily snuggled up on the sofa reading a book. He noticed it was one of the books he had brought from the library for her. Which sounded uncharacteristically nice of him but honestly he just wanted her to shut up so figured distracting her with books most would find boring would do the trick.

It truly worked wonders. She barely even noticed he was there.

"Granger." he said softly and nodded. It wasn't wise to talk too loudly if Pansy was around although obviously she was nowhere to be found hence Granger venturing out of Blaises's room.

"Hello, Malfoy." Granger greeted pleasantly. He and Granger still weren't friends but they were technically young adults so knew how to be civil. Draco briefly wondered where his friend had gotten to and wherever the hell it was that he didn't take too long. Granger might start to strike up a conversation soon. He shivered slightly at the thought.

Thankfully his prayers were answered when Blaise entered the room. He saw Granger ignoring his friend to read her book and Draco standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. Blaise stifled a laugh which Draco noticed earning Blaise a fierce glare from the blond.

"Alright mate?" Blaise asked Draco as he practically threw himself on the armchair closest to the fire.

"Where's Pansy?" Draco demanded ignoring his friend's question. Blaise wanted to make a snarky comment but one look at Draco saw that Draco hadn't just come to check up on Granger. Something had happened.

"In Slytherin common room gossiping with her friends I guess." Blaise answered, his voice sounding as nonchalant as he looked currently sprawled on the chair. "She'll be back in an hour or so, what's up?" Draco scowled. Granger was out and about when she didn't even know if Pansy was going to charge in any minute? How careless was this irritating Gryffindor.

The thing Draco hated most about this situation was that _he_ seemed to be the one most concerned about being caught. Granger clearly felt safe enough to exit Blaise's room whenever Pansy left no matter the fact that Pansy could come back a second later. Blaise clearly wasn't that concerned either as he didn't seem surprised to see Granger out and about.

Mentally sighing Draco resisted the urge to rub his temples to try and rid the oncoming headache. He wasn't supposed to care about what would happen to Granger but he found himself doing just so. He didn't like her, heck he barely knew her really. Yet at the same time he _did_ know her. There interactions may have been nothing but unpleasant and rowing but Granger was still someone he had shared a little bit of his life with since he was eleven. That somehow made her more real than other Muggleborns. There were a fair few still stuck at Hogwarts being treated cruelly by the Death Eater teachers and yet Draco hadn't shared a classroom with them and so they somehow didn't feel like real people.

Whatever it was that made Granger make him worry about her surviving this war it was infuriating as hell and he wished it would just go away.

"I was eavesdropping earlier on Snape and one of the Carrow siblings." Draco started suddenly feeling like he needed to sit down. "The Dark Lord's coming to Hogwarts." His statement was met with silence. He looked at Granger who still had her book open in front of her and her eyes were on the pages as if she were still reading. Draco saw that her eyes were staring blankly at the pages. She wasn't so engrossed in the book that she hadn't heard Draco's announcement. Blaise had stiffened but ultimately this wasn't that much of a difference to his life. Voldemort might try and recruit him but that was it.

If Voldemort found Granger then she was as sure as dead. Or worse tortured and made a hostage so the Dumb Duo would recklessly try and rescue her.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Blaise asked, his voice sounded light but it was clear he was feeling anything but.

"He's decided to bring in the Triwizard Tournament but The Dark Lord Hogwarts version." This time Blaise really was rigid. Draco figured there was no point in trying to sugar coat anything or beat around the bush so he continued. "There's no age limit and there's one person from each house. The Dark Lord decides the trials. That stupid cup decides who's the house's 'champion' is, no-one has to put their name in it'll come preloaded with all the students."

Draco tried to suppress his shudder at the images that crossed his mind but was only marginally successful. As if worrying about his life in general _and_ Granger wasn't enough now he had to worry if he or Blaise would be the Slytherin Champion. And if so what abysmal trials Voldemort had plan for them. No doubt fourth year's tournament was going to look easy as hell compared to this one.

Draco finally succumbed to the urge to sit down and as elegantly as one could he flounced down into the other arm chair opposite Blaise. Letting out a long breathe Draco ran his hands through his hair nervously.

"When do we find out who's going to participate?" Blaise's quiet voice interrupted the stony silence that had fallen around them.

"Tomorrow morning at breakfast the Dark Lord will enter after we've eaten and announce what's happening and then reveal who the champions are at dinner." Draco told them. He wondered if Granger had fainted in shock or something like that seeing as she was unnaturally quiet. He looked over to her and found she was still staring blankly at her book. Draco sighed mentally but didn't make any move to try and snap her out of her trance.

"So I'm guessing Hermione's staying for Christmas then." Blaise joked. Draco almost wanted to find that amusing anything to take his mind off the horrible day that would be tomorrow but he couldn't bring himself to. It seemed it was past the time of jokes.

Silence ensued once more until suddenly they could hear shuffling outside the portrait door.

"Shit." Blaise swore quietly. "Drake take her upstairs to my room." Blaise hissed urgently. Draco didn't let himself have enough time to think what would happen if Pansy was quicker than he was. He simply grabbed Granger's wrist and dragged her up until she was half running and still being half dragged behind him.

He opened Blaise's door and quickly shoved Granger inside and quietly shut the door behind him. They both stayed as still as statues, Draco leant against the door trying to hear any signs they had been caught.

A few minutes later when nothing out of the ordinary could be heard Draco let go of the breath he had been holding. He turned around to find Granger had been sat on the bed twiddling her thumbs nervously whilst biting down on her bottom lip anxiously. She looked a wreck.

Draco wasn't sure what he should do. Obviously neither him or Granger could leave until Blaise gave the all clear. Granger wasn't supposed to be here and well it'd just look weird if Draco suddenly appeared out of Blaise's room. Not to mention the fact that he'd then have to talk to Pansy which wasn't always a pleasant thing to do.

Sighing Draco laid on the bed, resting his head against the headboard. He stretched his legs but made sure to angle them so Granger still had space.

"Guess we're stuck here for a while, Granger." Draco said, stating the obvious. He heard the small sigh that left her lips as she nodded. Draco noted that she hadn't brought her book with her. Damn that meant there was nothing to distract her from trying to converse with him.

Draco mentally shrugged and closed his eyes. Granger was clearly lost in her head for now so why not try and take a nap. Who knows if Pansy had entered the common room alone or had simply moved her gossiping to the Head's Tower. Or if the poor bastard Blaise got stuck in a conversation with her.

Not long later Draco was drifting in and out of a light sleep. That was until Hermione got restless and he could feel her moving around not too far from his feet. He figured she'd stop in a few minutes but she must have been tapping her foot or something as he could feel her end of the bed jiggling up and down ever so slightly.

"What are you doing, Granger?" Draco snapped, annoyed he couldn't just nap and even more so that he felt obligated to start talking to her. Her movement stopped and there was a moment's paused. He wondered if she had started chewing on her bottom lip again. How she hadn't made a permanent indent in it he didn't know.

"What are the chances I'll still be alive tomorrow?" Granger asked quietly. He almost hadn't heard it. Draco's eyes opened and he stared up at the ceiling. Granger wasn't one to lose hope and be morose. That was more his style. For some reason it set him on edge.

"You're not going to die, Granger." He told her softly. They shouldn't talk loudly in any case seeing as Pansy could walk past at any time to get to her room but he felt this conversation was called for soft words and whispers only.

"Maybe, maybe not." She murmured, there was a brief pause before she continued. "If You-Know Who doesn't see me there's still the problem of trying to get to Harry and Ron. They can't be sitting quietly whilst I'm missing, they might end up doing something stupid. Or maybe Harry's stopped the search..." Draco listened as she seemed to trial of into a rant about how stupid and counterproductive it would be if Harry had stopped looking.

What for Draco had no idea but figured the less he knew about the Light Side's doings the better.

"Look, Granger, I'll try and find a way to contact your idiotic sidekicks but that's all I can give to you right now. As for tomorrow, if you just fucking stay put in Blaise's room no-one will find you. Don't go out into the common room even if you think it's safe." Draco felt weird, he was actually trying to _comfort_ Gryffindor's Golden Girl. That was never his normal, natural reaction upon seeing the girl. The fact that he hadn't insulted her felt somewhat strange but he figured even he wasn't as heartless as to not at least try and comfort a girl in distress.

"Thank you, Malfoy." Draco was pulled out of his mental rant by the gentle words spoken by the girl in front of him. She still had her back to him so he couldn't see her expression. "I haven't thanked you yet, I know you don't like me and honestly I don't think you're that great either. However I know you _are_ thinking of ways to get me out safely and I – just thank you." She ended her little speech with a small shrug.

Draco stared at her back. It was true she hadn't thanked him yet and although she was good old nice Hermione Granger he hadn't really expected her to thank him. Maybe if he had actually gotten her out but not beforehand. They were being civil again and he was never sure how to act when they were. He was raised to hate her, to believe she wasn't as powerful as him. That she was inferior.

But as he stared at the back of her, the person who even despite being treated harshly by him since she was eleven was _thanking him._ And the thing that made it seem so strange and confusing was that he hadn't done jack shit yet. She had been stuck here for the past two weeks with nothing but Blaise as a friend and him mainly ignoring her existence. Yet he knew she was genuinely thankful, that she believed he was trying with all his might to safe her. That Draco Malfoy was going to be her saving grace.

The part of him that always agreed with Dearest Daddy Malfoy sneered at him in his mind. Told him that he shouldn't be wasting his efforts. That she was unworthy of his help. Draco mentally snorted at himself. If anyone was unworthy to be saved it was _Draco._

Hermione Granger _was_ a Muggleborn but she was more worthy than he. That was the most startling realisation Draco Malfoy had ever had. He said nothing to her thanks merely leaned back properly once more and stared at the ceiling.

 _Well fuck_ Draco thought. It seemed that for the first time, Draco Malfoy actually wanted to save Hermione Granger and not even to save himself in the long run. _I'm doomed._

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 **A/N: Hey guys sorry it's been nearly a month things got in the way but I'm back and hopefully won't disappear again although Christmas is coming up so I might be a bit late but I'll try my hardest not to!**  
 **Anyway just wanted to say I'm planning (especially after New Year's) to update once a week on a Wednesday, I'd like to say 6pm on the dot everytime but that'll probably not happen so every Wednesday between 2-8pm I reckon. Anyway I hope you liked this chapter and sorry it took so long.**

 **Shoutouts:**

 **Thank You: to PuffyUnicorn for reviewing my last chapter it really means a lot. To answer your question this** _is_ **a Dramione fanfiction they're not going to go straight to liking each other but don't you worry they will start to soon! Blaise and Hermione will have a friendship that's strictly platonic :)**

 **And of course thank you to every one who has favourited/followed it honestly means a lot so thank you.**

 **I have an idea for the first two trials but if you guys have any suggestions of what the third one should be that'd be helpful :)**

 **I hope you liked this chapter, again reviews are appreciated.**

 **Until next time - Tilda**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: It has been way way too long and I'm sorry, I have no excuses I'm just a terrible person I'm sorry. To be honest I often lose inspiration/can't come up with ideas on stories so I stop writing the stories but this time round I had inspiration again, I'm already almost finished with Chapter 6 and I actually have ideas on where to go next so hopefully the next update will be really soon, hopefully people will come back and read this. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **The Tales of Draco Malfoy**

 **Chapter 4**

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Not long after Draco's epiphany of the fact that he was now in this to save Granger and not just himself and Blaise, Blaise returned. If he was surprised at the fact that Draco was sprawled on his bed seeming to be napping on top of the covers whilst Granger was sat at the end near his feet he didn't show it.

Pansy had been in a talkative mood so Blaise had been forced to suffer listening to her mindless gossip. Thankfully eventually Blaise could claim it was getting late and they should probably head to sleep. Pansy had agreed and only after making sure Pansy was in her room did Blaise enter his and signal Draco could leave.

Draco waited until Blaise had set up Granger's bed (a pillow transfigured into a mattress) until he felt it was safe enough to leave them. He went back to his room and was unable to sleep due to the thoughts about whether tomorrow he would be the champion and if he was strong enough for it.

It was safe to say that when Draco woke up he wasn't in a pleasant mood. Grumbling mentally to himself about having to get up early just to wait until dinner time to figure out if he was a dead man walking, he exited the Slytherin common room.

A few minutes later Draco noticed Blaise had already arrived and was seated towards the end of the Slytherin table. Draco silently sat next to his friend and merely nodded before tucking into the foods in front of him.

Neither Draco or Blaise had very big appetites this morning seeing as they both knew what was coming. Blaise had informed Draco that whilst he had been a few minutes late everyone had been told by Headmaster Snape that they had to wait until they were dismissed to leave the Great Hall. So Blaise and Draco sat quietly as they awaited.

Draco looked around and saw that no one was acting odd; it seems that it was likely only Draco and Blaise knew what was to come. A few minutes later Snape arose from the head chair at the head's table. The hall immediately fell silent.

"Students, today we are graced with The Dark Lord's presence. He has an announcement to make, be sure that you listen attentively." Snape drawled. There was a small outbreak of gasps and murmurs which was quickly broken when Voldemort seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of Snape.

His red eyes roamed around the room seeming to sparkle gleefully. There was a ghost of a smile on his lips. Voldemort was excited about the Tournament that much was obvious to Draco. Considering Draco knew what was coming he tuned out. Voldemort said pretty much what he was expecting, Hogwarts Triwizard Tournment, Champions revealed at dinner, tasks revealed half an hour before they would start.

After that announcement Voldemort dismissed them and Draco followed Blaise to their first lesson. Draco couldn't help but hope that Granger was doing as he said last night and was stay in the same fucking spot all day.

Draco had been on edge all day. For some reason his gut instinct was telling him that he was the Slytherin Champion, or worse _Blaise_ was. Blaise was smart and strong and could hold his own but he also had tendencies to put others before himself. Hence why they were stuck with Granger. Draco knew that whatever the tasks were Voldemort would make sure they were every man for himself. Whichever poor bastard from Hufflepuff got stuck with the job would probably lose the first task and then some.

Finally the time for dinner came Draco quickly ate what little he could stomach and waited for the majority to be finished. Once they were again Voldemort appeared out of seemingly nowhere. This time in front of him was the Goblet of Fire. Voldemort waved his hand over the flame, the hall was eerily quiet. Until a few seconds later when the fire rose and spit out a small piece of paper.

"From Ravenclaw, Terry Boot." The name was vaguely familiar to Draco. When Boot stood up to enter the Champions room Draco he loosely recalled having a class with him and the rest of the Ravenclaws and that he was a member of that little Dumbedore's Army club.

Draco wondered if the Champions would be half-bloods or Muggleborns only. Selfishly a little bit of hope rose in his chest. There were one or two Slytherins that were none purebloods. Perhaps Voldemort had rigged it so the Purebloods were safe. After all Voldemort favoured them.

"From Gryffindor, Alexandra Smith." She looked like she was a fourth year possibly fifth. Draco didn't know if she was pureblood or half blood or even Muggleborn. For his sake he hoped she was a half blood.

"From Hufflepuff, Jeanette Hills." Draco hid his shock well. He was sure the cup had to be rigged now. This must have been a malicious intent of Voldemort's. Not only was this Jeanette a Hufflepuff but she was _eleven_ years old. She was a first year. She stood up seemingly incredibly confident and strolled to the room where the other two were waiting.

Voldemort was cruel, that was something Draco couldn't afford to forget.

"Lastly from Slytherin." Draco felt as if Voldemort purposely put in a long pause. He felt like he was seconds away from breaking into a sweat. His gut felt twisted and just plain right _wrong._ It was him, he could feel it. Voldemort was punishing him for his weak past. Draco no longer showed fear or hesitance towards and when Voldemort was around. That didn't mean he had necessarily forgotten Draco's past cowardice.

"Blaise Zabini."

Draco swore his heart stopped beating. _No_ he thought frantically _not Blaise, this is worse so much worse._ Draco had felt his friend stiffen next to him. He wanted to grab onto Blaise's arm and forcefully get him to stay put. He knew if he did that Voldemort would see that as a defiant act. It would result in punishment for both of them.

His heart was pounding loudly as he watched his best friend calmly stand up and exit to the room. Draco had been right, Voldemort was punishing him. It was obvious that Blaise and Draco were best friends. Voldemort knew how to hit someone where it really hurt. Not themselves but the person they cared most about.

Draco's hands bunched into fists. He looked up to Voldemort to see the man staring right at him. Draco knew his eyes were probably revealing his rage and hatred towards the evil creature right now but he couldn't bring himself to care. Draco would do anything to survive this war including doing Voldemort's bidding. There was only one thing Draco would not tolerate. Voldemort targeting his friends.

Draco watched as Voldemort's lips curled into a sadistic smile. He finally looked away from Draco announced that those were the champions and that the students should hurry along to the comforts of their beds.

Draco stormed out of the Great Hall. He walked quickly until he was in a hallway that was momentarily empty. Letting out a small margin of his anger and frustration he punched the wall closest to him. Unsatisfied he punched and punched and punched until he heard footsteps coming. Breathing heavily at the quick release of such pent up rage Draco quickly walked away. He found his feet leading him to the Head's Tower. He knew Blaise wouldn't be there. Not until later or perhaps morning.

Still Draco muttered the password and slipped inside. He couldn't hear any movement and Granger thankfully wasn't sat on the sofa. Briefly a flash of worry surged through his body at the thought that maybe Granger had been caught. Draco went up to Blaise's room taking two steps at a time. He burst Blaise's room open.

He was annoyed to say that relief flooded him as he saw the occupant of the room jump in surprise at his entrance.

"Merlin, Malfoy you scared me half to death!" she said exasperated. Draco took no notice of her and angrily sat himself on the bed. He missed Granger's raised eyebrow of confusion and surprise that was directed towards him.

"Is there a problem?" Granger asked. Her voice wasn't quiet and Draco started to wonder where Pansy had gone off to. Probably the common room to gossip.

"Blaise is the fucking champion that's what the problem is." Draco snapped at her. In the corner of his eye he saw Granger flinch at his harsh tone. He was too angry to feel guilty.

"Blaise is intelligent and an excellent wizard, he'll be okay." Her voice was soft again, comforting. No matter how soft her tone was it did nothing to comfort him.

"You don't understand, Granger." He said his frustration oozing throughout his voice. "The Dark Lord will make fourth year's tasks look easy. Dumbledore wouldn't have let anyone die but you think _he_ cares about these students?" Draco stood up at this his anger refusing to let him sit still.

"If any of them die or are clearly on their death bed all he will do is _laugh_. He'll spin some stupid story about purebloods rule or whatever shit he cares about but he will not come to anyone's rescue. He'll leave them all to rot." Draco spat.

Silence fell between them. Not even Granger could argue against that. They both knew it was true. Voldemort didn't give a flying fuck about Blaise in fact he'd probably think it would teach Draco a good lesson if his friend died.

Draco paced angrily until he no longer had any energy put to lean against the wall and slowly slide down until he was almost slumped on the floor. His guards were momentarily down, Granger was seeing the side of him that only Blaise did. The side that cared about whether the fuck someone died or not.

He heard Granger move about and felt more than anything else, her slide down next to him. She didn't touch him which he was thankful for. He was too wound up to be comforted by touch. Not to mention it was Granger.

They sat in silent for what Draco figured was probably half an hour. Draco's thoughts were all over the place with worry for his friend, Merlin knows what was going on in Granger's head. He knew that his mate and Granger had become fast friends. He wondered if she was as worried about Blaise as he was. With her amount of compassion he didn't really doubt it.

"He'll be alright, Malfoy." Granger whispered. "You're not going to let anything happen to him and I'll help in any way I can." He wanted to be nasty to her. Wanted to snap at her some scathing insult but he was too tired to think of one.

Granger's gaze must have fallen on his hands which he was resting against his knees because she suddenly made a strange high pitched squeak.

"Malfoy your hands! Did you get into a fight or something?" she asked sounded concerned. He wondered why she was so worried, they weren't even friends. Then he realised she was Granger for Salazar's sake, she felt sympathy towards house elves even she would feel concern for him.

"Or something." He muttered. "It was either the walls that faced my fist or The Dark Lord, figured I'd probably survive a round against a wall more than against him." Hermione frowned disapprovingly at him.

"Give me your wand." She demanded. He scowled at her, his wand wasn't some toy to share around.

"Why?" he asked suspicious of her intentions. Maybe she was fed up with him and his lack of results and figured if she could just get her hand on a wand she could bust herself out. Draco mentally snorted. Granger wasn't that dumb after all.

"To heal you, you idiot." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. If Draco hadn't felt so mentally drained it probably was that obvious. Sighing he wordlessly handed her his wand, his hands were starting to throb and he couldn't even remember a simple healing spell right now.

Granger took it from him gently, her fingers graced his as she did so. Draco's knuckles had split open from the wall's impact, he hadn't noticed he had been bleeding. Granger got to work, muttering a few basic healing spells and a few seconds later the throbbing was gone and his knuckles looked almost back to normal.

"I suggest punching something soft next time." She said handing him back his wand. Draco merely rolled his eyes.

"I suppose I'll wait here 'til Blaise comes back." He paused "Pansy might be a nuisance." It sounded a lot like an excuse to Draco and if he would just be honest to himself it was. He was too wired to want to be alone and the other Slytherin boys weren't very comforting.

As annoying as it was Granger's presence was soothing. She didn't protest or point out the fact that he had a very lame excuse for staying. Merely nodded, made her bed and slipped under the covers. Draco stripped off his shirt and trousers not bothered if Granger saw him only his boxers. He doubted she cared enough to look. Slipping under the covers of Blaise's bed Draco waved his wand to turn off the lights.

They were plummeted into darkness, Pansy hadn't come back as far as they were aware so the night was silent and still. Draco placed his wand under his pillow for easy access just in case Pansy came wandering where she wasn't wanted.

"Goodnight, Malfoy." A soft voice called.

"G'night." He grunted in reply. Draco closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Images of what could happen to Blaise in the future tasks haunted Draco's dreams.

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 **A/N: Once again so sorry that it's been so long since the last update and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. Sorry if there's any spelling/grammar mistakes. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, a review is always appreciated :) Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed already.**

 **Until next time - Tilda**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So I've been gone a long time again and I apologise I'm a terrible person but I hope this chapter makes up for it, so read and enjoy! :)**

* * *

 **The Tales of Draco Malfoy**

 **Chapter 5**

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To say that Blaise was surprised to see Draco curled up fast asleep in his bed would sure as hell not be a lie. Draco had been his best mate since they were three and back then it wasn't unusual for small Blaise to find an even smaller Draco napping on his bed after a particularly bad argument with dear Daddy Malfoy. However Draco stopped that habit once they were in Hogwarts. Blaise couldn't help but smile softly at his best friend as he quickly glanced over to Hermione to make sure Pansy hadn't snuck in and killed her in her sleep whilst he had been gone for the night.

Blaise wish he could say he was surprised at being the champion but ever since he found out about the tournament he knew it would be him. Voldemort knew how to play people's weaknesses and being practically brothers with Draco meant that Blaise was Draco's weakness. Draco wasn't an overly emotional guy, at least not publicly but he and Blaise never hid their friendship.

Sighing Blaise gently sat down on the end of his bed. He knew he shouldn't but he felt guilty that he was picked. He had no doubt that Draco slept in his room last night because he was incredibly worried about Blaise. There was nothing they could do, Blaise would have to try and win, simple as that. If Draco tried to interfere who knows how Voldemort would punish him. _Heck, Voldemort would probably nearly Crucio me to death to punish him,_ Blaise thought to himself.

Running a hand through his hair Blaise sighed heavily once more.

"Would you fucking shut up people are trying to sleep here." A voice grumbled behind Blaise. Blaise turned to see Draco glaring at him, half his face covered by his blonde hair falling in front of his grey eyes.

"No-one asked you to sleep in my bed." Blaise retorted.

"No-one asked you to disappear for a whole night." Draco snapped back. Blaise held back another sigh, this one laced with guilt.

"Drake, you know I'm just as upset about this as you are." Blaise said softly. Draco sat up, scowling at the bed, he ran his hands through his hair trying to sort out his bed head. Rubbing his tired eyes Draco pulled his knees up and hugged them to his chest. "I'm not dead yet." Blaise added. Draco laughed humourlessly at that.

"Yeah and the operative word there is _yet_." Draco sneered. Silence fell between the two best friends. Blaise didn't know how to comfort Draco and Draco didn't know how to handle the thought that his only real friend could end up dead soon.

Hermione had been sleeping somewhat peacefully on her make shift bed on the floor. Blaise coming into the room had woken her but she kept quiet. Her back had been to the boys so neither of them saw her wide awake eyes.

Admittedly Hermione didn't _really_ know Blaise and Malfoy but she knew that Blaise was an incredibly kind person. She knew that if she thought about it too hard and for too long tears would come to her eyes at the thought that Blaise wasn't strong enough to win the tournament. Not for the first time Hermione cursed Voldemort and his existence. It wasn't fair. Hermione should be Head Girl worrying about N.E.W.T.s , trying to get Harry and Ron to study and ignoring Malfoy's insults towards her and her friends. Instead she was stuck at Hogwarts, surrounded by a bunch of people who found enjoyment out of torturing Muggleborns like her. She and Blaise had become friends so quickly because he had been nothing but nice and considerate towards her.

They had often stayed up late talking about how the world had truly gone to shit. He would assure her that he never believed in Pureblood supremacy or any of that bullshit. That his family couldn't give two shits about Voldemort but they were still very much Slytherin so self-preservation was instinct to him, hence never trying to kill Voldemort. He even would tell her that he knew Malfoy had been a dick to her but he wasn't that bad of a guy really. It was the only thing they ever sort of fought about.

Hermione was terrified, truly terrified, that soon she would say goodbye to Blaise as he walked out the door to go to class but he would never come back. The tournament would kill him and the only person who would come back to see her would be Malfoy. Either an angry Malfoy, a sad Malfoy or a numb one. She wasn't sure which one of those would be worse.

Blinking back the tears and mentally shaking away the negative thoughts Hermione sat up.

"I know you're a pessimistic prat by nature Malfoy but you're not being a very comforting friend." She looked over to Malfoy expecting a glare but he only acknowledged her with a raised eyebrow.

"Morning Hermione." Blaise greeted rather cheerfully

"Morning." She replied before continuing on with the rather depressing topic at hand "Do you know when the first task is yet or what it is?"

"It's in a week but we only get told what it is half an hour before it starts." Blaise replied, Hermione's brows furrowed. She stood up oblivious to the boy's gaze and the fact that she was still in her pyjamas, which consisted of an old shirt of Blaise's that had fallen off her shoulders in the night revealing her bra straps and the top of her bra. The bottom half consisted of a pair of Blaise's old shorts which Hermione had to roll several times to stop them from falling down which resulted in them being quite short shorts.

Hermione was too wrapped up in her thoughts, pacing up and down to notice that Blaise and Draco had been staring at her legs. Draco rolled his eyes at her obliviousness but wasn't surprised as the guys she hung around with _were_ Potty and Weasel.

Tearing his eyes away from her legs (where they always that long?) Draco looked over to Blaise. Blaise had moved up from her legs and was now staring at her shoulders. Draco let out a cough which was ignored by Hermione but had the desired effect and gained Blaise's attention. Draco raised an eyebrow at his best friend. Blaise merely gave a wicked grin and shrugged. Rolling his eyes yet again Draco saw his school jumper that he had dumped on Blaise's floor last night. He chucked it at Granger and since she wasn't paying any attention whatsoever it hit her head.

"What the hell, Malfoy?" Hermione snapped at him being ripped out of her thoughts by what seemed to be a jumper.

"Despite the fact that I don't particularly like you, you're still a girl and we're still guys.." Draco's voice trailed off at Hermione's confused look. Frustrated at her obliviousness Draco continued in a snappy tone. "Just put the fucking jumper on, Granger." His demand was more for his sake than it was for hers, he didn't like how goddamn distracting it was to see Granger in such an unkempt state.

Hermione, still confused, looked to the jumper in her hand and then down at herself, finally realising her dishevelled appearance a faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she hastily pulled the jumper on her. Since Draco was so much taller than her and he had a wider build it seemed to engulf her, she had to pull the sleeves up as they were too long and the jumper ended not too far above her knees.

Draco was even more frustrated at the fact that the jumper hadn't helped the 'distraction', in fact it made it worse, not that he was going to admit that, not even to himself.

"Spoilsport I was enjoying the view." Blaise stated with a fake pout. Only half paying attention to the boys Hermione chucked her pillow in the direction she thought Blaise was in. Sure enough she heard the soft thud of a pillow hitting Blaise's chest. Satisfied that she hit him Hermione focused her attention on her thoughts once more and missed Blaise's playful grin.

Although Hermione knew that Malfoy was generally a cold and heartless bastard that cared only for himself if there was one thing she knew about him it was that Blaise was his best friend. Even Malfoy gave a damn whether his _best friend_ lived or not. She knew that Malfoy always tried hard to not be 'too emotional' or too Gryffindor as he would put it but there was no denying that Blaise was important to Malfoy. If _she,_ his sort of childhood enemy, knew that then Hermione knew that Voldemort would too. Voldemort knew how to play people's weakness's and Hermione was sure Voldemort knew that Blaise's friendship was one of Malfoy's.

However Malfoy _was_ a Death Eater and even though she knew he didn't want to see all Muggleborns dead, he did obey Voldemort's orders. Malfoy may hate Voldemort and even what he stands for but he was being loyal to Voldemort for survival. Surely Voldemort wouldn't kill one of his loyal (sort of) followers best friends? That would risk Malfoy changing sides and even Voldemort must want no chance of any of his Death Eaters falling into the Order's hands. Voldemort wasn't going to let Blaise die, Hermione concluded and then the rather morose side of her brain added, but he wouldn't care if Blaise was tortured or injured.

Sighing Hermione slumped down onto her makeshift bed drawing attention of the two boys she had previously been ignoring. Draco could tell Granger had been trying to figure a way out for Blaise or if he would get killed and by the look on his face Granger got nothing. Loathed as Draco was to admit it the girl was smart and if she couldn't think of a way out well then Blaise was screwed.

"I feel like you guys just mentally sentenced me to death." Blaise announced rather nonchalantly, it earned him a glare from Draco. Blaise sighed in defeat "Okay, so this is a shit situation for me and yes I probably will get at least hurt but seriously guys I can survive this, I've survived so far and anything they throw at me I'm sure I can handle, plus if it's a brains thing you'll help me won't you Hermione?"

Hermione bit her lip and looked up at Blaise, they hadn't known each other long but Blaise was a true friend to Hermione. "Of course, I'll help in any way I can." Hermione's voice was soft, quiet, she was holding back tears she felt threatening to spill. Blaise smiled softly at her and thanked her.

"This is fucking depressing." Draco stated, Blaise snorted and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You can say you're worried about me, don't worry I won't judge it might even warm my heart." Blaise teased, earning him yet another glare from his friend.

"Screw waiting around for a week I'm going to go find out what the first task is." Draco said suddenly and leapt up from Blaise's bed, at his sudden declaration which to Hermione sounded a terrible idea, she too jumped up from her bed and stood in the way of the door.

"Are you mental? How on Earth do you think you can find out what the task is without pissing off the wrong people?" Hermione asked him, yes Malfoy annoyed her to no end and yes ever since they've know each other he's treated her like she was beneath him, but that didn't mean she wanted him to go on a suicide mission. Heck it didn't even mean she hated him because the Malfoy she knew now, the one she was getting to know, he wasn't a _bad_ person.

"Look, Snape is still my Godfather I'll see if he's willing to give me a head's up, if not I'll listen in to the rumour mill it's not dangerous." Draco shrugged and went to move to the left of Granger to get to the door. She mimicked his movement once again blocking him from leaving.

"Godfather or not Snape is a _Death Eater_ what makes yo-" before Hermione could finish her sentence Draco talked over her.

"Granger, I'm a Death Eater too." He snapped. Hermione's mouth open and closed, she hadn't expected to offend him. Granted she did spit out the words Death Eater rather bitterly but to be fair to her they brought her nothing but pain. She didn't like Death Eaters she couldn't help it yet she knew she couldn't hate Malfoy anymore.

"Malfoy, it's still dangerous." She whispered.

"Yeah? And what the fuck is it to you?" Draco spat at her. Hermione didn't understand what she had said wrong and just as she was about to apologise Draco continued. "Let's get things straight, I don't want you here, Blaise saved you not me. _Blaise_ is the reason you're alive not me, if I had found you Granger I probably would have left you there. You and I aren't friends, you are Potter's sidekick and I am his enemy. So I'm not going to ask your fucking permission to try and save my friend because you suddenly think I am not a Death Eater."

Hermione was so stunned that she didn't say anything nor move to block Malfoy as he left the room, door slamming behind him. She wasn't sure why that hurt so much, he was right they _weren't_ friends, her best friend _was_ his enemy and he _was_ a Death Eater. But she also knew that he wasn't entirely speaking the truth.

Hermione knew without a doubt that Malfoy wouldn't have left her to die. Friends or not, Death Eater or not Hermione would be damned before she let Malfoy get himself killed. Whether he liked it or not Draco Malfoy wasn't a bad person and she would make sure he knew that.

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 **A/N: once again I'm sorry it takes me so long to update and I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you to everyone who's reviewed and favourited and followed it really means a lot! You guys are awesome. The next chapter will probably be the first task hopefully I won't take too long to write and upload it!**

 **Until next time - Tilda**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: look at that two chapters in two days! I'm impressed I've managed to do this but it probably won't happen again ahhhh, well I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, if you want to leave a review I'd really appreciate it :) I haven't checked my spelling so if there are any spelling errors I'm sorry please forgive me.**

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 **The Tales of Draco Malfoy**

 **Chapter 6**

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It was safe to say that Granger had been right. Which of course Draco sure as hell wasn't going to admit that to her. After angrily exiting the Heads Tower Draco did go to his Godfather. On the way there his thoughts occupied with his anger towards Granger. Who the hell was she to tell him what to do? To tell him he was mental for trying to save his friend? She risked her life daily to safe her stupid friends and you didn't see him trying to lecture her about it because frankly he didn't care. They weren't friends. They couldn't be, not after all the shit he said and done to her.

Draco was positive that Snape would be in his office in his classroom and sure enough he was. He quickly got to the point and asked Snape if he could tell him anything about the upcoming task. Draco wasn't particularly close with his Godfather but he knew his Mother must have chosen him for a reason. She wouldn't have asked some guy who didn't get a shit about him to be his Godfather, right?

Well with the way the conversation went Draco was starting to think he was wrong. After telling Draco that asking him about the task was a dangerous thing he then slapped him. Draco stood stunned, the only person who had ever hit him before was Granger and Snape had a much harsher slap then she ever did. Draco refused to touch his hand to his eye, knowing a black eye was forming, he didn't want to let Snape know that it fucking hurt.

Draco didn't expect an apology nor even a small look of remorse and he sure as hell didn't get any. So with his eyes blazing with anger he spat a thank you out and left the room, yet another door slamming behind him.

He marched down the halls of Hogwarts until he got into the Slytherin Common Room. He spotted the person he was looking for and beckoned them to follow him. He led them to his room and kicked two of his roommates out, sensing he was in an awful mood they listened and left immediately.

"Pans, have you heard anything of what the first task might be?" Draco asked as he threw himself down on his bed.

"Here I thought you were taking me to your room to have you way with me." She pouted but seeing as he didn't even look her way she sighed and dropped whatever hope she had that Draco was still interested in her, as she was him. "I haven't heard anything, I think The Dark Lord is keeping it under wraps, he likes to make people squirm." She said the word squirm with a wicked smirk.

Draco couldn't help the flash of Granger's face that entered his brain at that or the image of her under Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse. He felt sick all of sudden. Sighing Draco told Pansy to get out and only with a pout and a small whine she abided.

He knew that Granger was probably worried for some strange reason, Blaise might be too, he knew he should go back to the Heads Tower so they knew he was still alive. However all of this task shit and Blaise being the so called fucking champion left him exhausted. Draco fell asleep but it was certainly not a peaceful one.

* * *

He didn't go back to the Heads Tower for two days, in fact he stayed in his common room. He got one of his roommates to tell the teachers he was sick and he just laid in bed all day. The war, the task, the fact that the world was gone to shit. It was all finally catching up on him and he was just so fucking tired that he decided he deserved a break.

Two days of doing fuck all gave him enough of a break that he figured he should probably go back to the Head's Tower. He briefly wondered if Granger had managed to stay alive but figured Blaise had been the one to rescue her anyway so she was undoubtedly in safe hands. Why did he care anyway? He didn't know and it pissed him off so he tried to not think about it.

The Head's common room was empty since it was lunch time Blaise would be eating. He figured he should go up to Blaise's room and let Granger know he was fine but he didn't particularly want to see her at the moment anyway. Whilst he had left angry the time to himself to just think about everything had turned his anger towards her to guilt. Not that he was going to apologise, Malfoy's don't apologise to anyone.

"Malfoy!" the sudden voice from behind startled him and before he could turn around to confirm it was Granger he felt her fling herself onto him. Draco was confused as hell as to why Granger of all people was hugging his back but the world had gone to shit so he figured crazier things were bound to happen.

"Granger." He greeted her. His voice seemed to snap her out of whatever thoughts she was having and she let go of him. He turned around and was about to ask her what the hell was that for when she gasped.

Gently she touched his eye and Draco flinched away as it had stung. Right, Snape had hit him. He forgot he had a black eye which might've been a grotesque yellow by now, he wasn't sure.

"I told you it was dangerous." She said quietly, she looked rather sad to find him hurt which Draco didn't understand at all. Yes he hadn't been a complete dick to her recently but had she forgotten all the things he had said to her other years? Heck he called her a Mudblood the first day he found her here.

"It's nothing." Draco told her, shrugging away her concern. She frowned at that and held out her hand expectantly. Draco merely raised his eyebrow at it, she rolled her eyes

"Your wand, Malfoy. To heal you, you idiot." Draco felt a sense of déjà vu since it was only a few days ago where she said practically the same thing, except this time Draco's wound wasn't self-inflicted. Wordlessly he handed her his wand and she murmured a healing spell and Draco assumed the bruise was gone. It had stopped throbbing last night so other than Granger touching it it had stopped giving him any pain.

Granger handed him back his wand and sat down in the chair to the right of the sofa he was sitting on. He expected her to shoot question after question at him but she merely sat in silence. Her knees hugged to her chest and her head resting on her knees, pointed in his direction. Draco was usually a fan of silences but there was something about a silence with Granger that felt weird, it felt…wired. With what he didn't know but he didn't like it.

"What happened?" Granger broke the silence, Draco looked over to her to see her staring at him, obviously awaiting an answer. Draco shrugged which caused Granger's eyebrows to form into a frown, "Malfoy you were gone two days and you came back with a black eye, don't you think you owe an explanation?"

"To you?" No I'm not sure I do." Draco drawled. Hermione sighed and turned her head away as silence overtook them once more.

Silence that was quickly broken by the sound of the door opening. Hermione figured it was Blaise coming back from lunch, hopefully with some hidden away for her too. Draco however was a little more cautious and his body tensed up.

"Honestly Blaise, Draco didn't look sick when I spoke to him, you should go see him I think there's obviously something wrong with him." Pansy voice filtered through to them.

Draco's head snapped to Granger and he saw her eyes widen in panic. Before he could even think about what he was doing he stood up, grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her along with him. He was thankful she didn't protest but figured she was probably too worried to do anything but follow his lead. Quietly but quickly he opened Blaise's door and shoved her in there and was about to go downstairs to make sure that they didn't come into the room when he heard Pansy's voice. It was right fucking there.

She was still babbling on about how she was worried about Draco and Blaise was clearly not paying attention to her one bit.

"Okay Pans whatever, Draco is a big boy I'm sure he's fine, now I need to get some books so do you mind?" Draco heard Blaise say.

"I've been in your room before, Blaise." She said impatiently, sounding annoyed that he wanted to stop the conversation and leave her outside his room whilst she clearly wasn't done with the conversation.

The door handle moved and Draco once again without thinking grabbed Granger's hand and pulled her into Blaise's wardrobe. Which Draco suddenly realised was really fucking small. He pushed Granger up against the wall which meant his back was to the door of the wardrobe and they were squashed together in the dark.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Draco tried to ignore the fact that Granger's body was pressed up against him and concentrated on any sound of Blaise and Pansy leaving. Hermione meanwhile was acutely and annoying well aware of how fast her heart was beating and was preoccupied with not thinking about how close she was to Malfoy's body and hoping he couldn't hear how fast her heart was going.

Pansy was still going on about how weird Draco had been acting the past few days and Blaise was giving noncommittal grunts as his answer as he went around his room looking for one of his textbooks.

It felt like half an hour to Draco before Blaise finally said he got what he wanted and ushered Pansy out the room, in reality it was probably only five minutes, ten at the most.

However Draco didn't move a muscle for the next two minutes, to make sure that they weren't going to come back all of a sudden. When he figured the coast was clear he sighed deeply and ran his hand through his head and rested his head on the door.

"Um, Malfoy? Is it clear to get out of here?" Granger whispered and unbeknownst to Draco since it was so dark, she was blushing and quite deeply at that. Draco's thoughts were once again brought back to how goddamn _close_ they were to each other and so he hastily grabbed the handle behind him and opened the door.

He stood still and watched as Granger headed to clean up the mess that Blaise had created a few minutes ago. He wondered why she was doing that she wasn't his maid but figured Granger was probably a neat freak.

She wasn't. Hermione had needed something to busy her hands with and her mind so she wouldn't think of how Malfoy's entire body had been pressed up against hers.

"Granger?" Draco interrupted the silence, she didn't stop cleaning or look in his direction but she did give a hum to show she was listening. "You were right, it was dangerous." He didn't know why he told her that, he could've lived the rest of his life without admitting to Granger that it had been a stupid idea to try and find out what the first task was. It was just that somehow he felt like he and Granger had just had a _moment._

He watched as his statement caused Granger to pause bending over to grab a book Blaise had chucked on the floor. She stood up and looked over at him. For the first time in his life he wondered what Hermione Granger was thinking.

"Don't do something like that again, okay?" She asked, she continued to look at him for a few more seconds before she went back to cleaning.

"Ok." He said as he headed out the door, he didn't see the smile that one word caused Hermione to break into.

* * *

"Where the hell is he Blaise?" Hermione said, Blaise had been watching her pace up and down his bedroom floor for the past five minutes.

They were both on edge since it was forty minutes before Blaise had to do whatever insane task Voldemort had set him. Draco had been with them in the common room last night and told Blaise that he would meet him here an hour before the task so they could head down together to the hall to find out what the first task was.

He had yet to show and Draco was many things but he was never late. Plus Blaise knew that Draco was worried about him so Draco sure as hell wouldn't be late to _this_.

"I don't know, Hermione but there's no use in worrying." Blaise said trying to sooth her but then of course ruined it by adding "I have to go." Hermione whirled around to face him.

"No! I don't want you going out there alone, Malfoy said he'd be here, he _promised._ " Hermione wasn't sure if she could hold back the tears that had been threatening to escape for the past hour. Sighing Blaise stood up from his bed and gathered Hermione in a hug.

"Look, I have to I'm sure if I'm late I'll get punished, Draco is fine I'm sure, as soon as the task is done I'll make sure both of us came straight back here, okay?" His voice was slightly muffled by her hair but Hermione heard him loud and clear. Biting back a sob she nodded.

"Be careful, please." She whispered to him as he pulled away from her, Blaise smiled softly at her and kissed her forehead.

"Stay here we'll be back soon." He promised and Hermione watched with a heavy heart and a stomach full of nerves as one of her friends left and maybe he wouldn't be coming back.

* * *

To say Blaise was nervous would be an understatement, he was sort of pissed at Draco for not being here he could have really used the moral support. However more than being pissed off at him he was worried, Draco really was never late and Blaise knew he wouldn't want to leave Blaise to face this alone.

Blaise's thoughts were occupied about the whereabouts of his friends as he followed the entire school outside. Voldemort had entered the Great Hall and promptly told them all to follow him. Blaise would've usually been focusing on where the hell they were going but was too worried about his best friend to care what was in store for him.

A few minutes later the crowd stopped and Voldemort told the four champions to come to the front of the crowd. Sighing Blaise tried to get Draco out of his mind and focus on surviving this task which Blaise now saw clearly had something to do with the Forbidden Forest. Great.

A few moments later Blaise finally pushed through to the front, only to wish he hadn't. His heart sunk straight to his stomach and he wanted to throw up. He looked over to Voldemort was smiling at him, the nausea only increased.

In front of him, kneeling and all looking incredibly ill were four people. Frankly Blaise didn't know or care who the three other people were, his eyes could only focus on the one right in front of Voldemort.

Who was of course his best friend, Draco.

"As you can see in front of me are the people who are dearest to you four champions, your task is simple. They have all been poisoned, each the same poison and each will die a very painful death in two hours-time. Unless of course you find the cure which is hidden somewhere in the forest." Voldemort paused, possibly for dramatic effect Blaise didn't know all he knew was he wanted to kill the sick bastard. "Of course I am a fair person so there is one cure for each of your loved ones. However this is the Forbidden Forest you won't be alone."

Voldemort signalled the champions to come and stand by their friends. Blaise gulped back the sick that was rising and went over to stand by Draco. Draco looked up at him and Blaise could tell that even though Draco was trying to hide it, he was in excruciating pain.

Blaise was vaguely away that the Hufflepuff champion broke into tears once seeing her friend. All Blaise could focus on was getting that goddamn cure. Voldemort cleared his throat obviously wanting attention once more, Blaise didn't pull his eyes away from the forest.

"Ah. Forgot to mention one thing, your friends will be tethered to you by a spell; they must go along with you." Once again a sickening smile broke across Voldemort's face. "Well, my friends, good luck."

And with that Blaise gently pulled Draco up and quickly headed towards the forbidden forest to play Voldemort's sick game.

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 **A/N: dun dun dunnn, so there's chapter 6 I hope you guys enjoyed it, I even added a bit more Draco x Hermione interaction just for you guys ;) this will be probably be a slow build up between Draco and Hermione I'm not sure yet, anyway I'll try and update as soon as I can :)**

 **Until next time - Tilda**


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